Key Aspects:
- The investigation into how a 5-year-old girl managed to fall overboard from Disney Dream at the end of June is now complete.
- Official legal documents show that the mother had instructed her daughter to pose for a picture in an open porthole, which she believed was closed.
- No charges will be pressed against the mother and the case is closed, but all families can still learn from her mistake.
A man overboard incident is always scary, but the stakes are particularly high when the person who has fallen overboard is a child.
Few will soon forget that this is exactly what happened onboard Disney Dream on the morning of June 29, 2025, during a 4-night Bahamas sailing.
The 5-year-old girl fell 50-feet into the ocean from Deck 4 of the Disney Cruise Line ship. Less than a minute later, the girl’s father had jumped overboard to save her. Thankfully, the duo was rescued in less than an hour.
An investigation into what led to the child’s accidental fall has been underway, and thanks to a police report from Florida’s Broward County Sheriff’s Office, we now know more about what happened.
Early rumors blamed the child’s father for allegedly holding the girl on the ship’s railing for a picture or claimed that she had been climbing the railing and slipped. But neither of these theories are true.
What really happened on that fateful day is that the child’s mother had encouraged her daughter to pose for a picture in front of an open porthole. Per the authorities, she did not realize that the porthole was open.
“[The mom] assumed the porthole had a window or plexiglass, and she thought that [her daughter] would be caught by the glass, but instead, she kept falling,” the police report stated.
Both the mother and the father spoke with police, and their stories match surveillance footage, in which the mom can be seen walking on Deck 4 before directing the little girl to the porthole.
Disney Cruise Line has not commented publicly on the findings of the investigation.
At the time, the cruise line confirmed the man overboard situation and commended the crew members for their heroic rescue of the dad and daughter.
Mother Will Not Be Charged
The mother did put her child in a dangerous situation, and for a time, criminal charges were considered.
“Upon looking at the window myself, as a prudent person, I immediately saw that the window was open to the air, and did not have a covering,” Detective Christopher Favitta, who investigated the scene in person, wrote in his portion of the report.
“This act, facilitated by [the mother] placed the child in a life-threatening situation. As a result, the child fell from the ship and into the water, in an avoidable accident,” he continued.
Dad Saves Overboard Daughter From Disney Dream (Credit: Janice Martin-Asuque)
But while the mother’s decision was not smart, it ultimately wasn’t enough to warrant charges.
“While the defendant’s conduct is arguably negligent and irresponsible, it does not rise the egregious level of conduct necessary to establish criminal culpable negligence,” Assistant State Attorney Melissa Kelly confirmed in the report.
The case is now closed, and the family can move on with their lives.
Read Also: What Happens If You Jump Off a Cruise Ship?
Thankfully, the story did have a happy ending – and all cruising families can learn from the mother’s mistake so that it doesn’t happen again.
Keeping kids away from openings and preventing them from climbing on railings can mean the difference between life and death, as the majority of people who fall overboard do sadly perish or are lost at sea.
According to a report from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 212 people went overboard from 2009 to 2019.
Only 48 were found alive, which equates to a successful rescue rate of approximately 22%.
In this case, both the father and daughter were immediately tended to by Disney’s onboard medical team after being rescued and were expected to fully recover, if they haven’t already.
The child escaped with mild hypothermia and minor lactic acidosis, while her father was hospitalized with hypothermia, lactic acidosis, and two spinal fractures.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
